Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 681 Failed to Win Chicken, Loses Money on US National Day Film Promotion

"Awesome!"

Jiang Wen’s loud voice was filled with emotion, “How can they be so blind? Was my ‘Devils on the Doorstep’ really that bad?”

Is "Let the Bullets Fly" really that bad?

"The movie 'Let the Bullets Fly' has too many metaphors. Do you want foreign film schools to open a course to teach how to hide daggers in movies?"

Wu Chen couldn't help but laugh and tease him on the other end of the phone.

"As for 'Devils on the Doorstep,' I remember that quite a few schools in China use your black-and-white photography as a teaching case."

Especially that one and only color shot at the end of the film—I remember it was mentioned in some textbook, but I can't recall which one right now.

Wu Chen chuckled upon hearing this.

Jiang Wen's most classic film is actually "Devils on the Doorstep," which holds a higher status in academic circles than among ordinary viewers.

"Hey, I just wanted to show off a bit abroad too."

Jiang Wen was also very satisfied with "Devils on the Doorstep".

The only drawback is that the film's overseas distribution was somewhat restricted due to its subject matter and the controversies of that time.

Few foreign film schools use it as a formal teaching case.

They primarily used Zhang Yimou's films, which were extremely expressive in their use of color.

Of course, now there's another one: Wu Chen's "1939".

"Oh, right!" Jiang Wen suddenly remembered something else.

"What happened with the Golden Rooster Awards? Why did you back down? Did you do this? You even added some supplementary document at the last minute, allowing low- and medium-budget films to participate in the individual award selections?"

Jiang Wen was very curious. It had only been a few days since the controversy started, so how come the Golden Rooster Awards, which was known for its "stubbornness," had so quickly patched up its own loopholes?

"Who knows?"

Wu Chen gave a vague answer, but he knew that the bureau must have given prior instructions.

That way of playing the Golden Rooster game is outrageous; they're really treating a chicken feather like a royal decree.
"Haha, do you think I believe it?"

"."

Not only Jiang Wen had this idea, but many discerning people in the industry also guessed it after seeing the supplementary announcement from the Golden Rooster Awards, which was a "better late than never" response.

"Wu Chen contributed?"

"It's hard to say. It's rare. Jinji has even changed its personality. It's been much more low-key this time. It probably lost more than it gained!"

"That's great, we can compete for individual awards now. Otherwise, what will happen to small and medium-budget films in the future? They'll have to bribe or pull strings."

"."

In contrast to those in the industry, netizens were full of ridicule.

"say something!"

"Speak louder!"

However, the Golden Rooster Awards officials were unusually low-key, as if all the previous controversies had never happened. They simply stayed home and didn't make any statements.

Anyway, that's how it's always been done.

After laying a "double yolk" or "triple yolk" egg, as long as you play dead and don't make a sound, after a while, everyone will gradually forget about it.

Next year, if all else fails, we can just try something different and start over!

This is one of his specialties.
"He's faking his death again?"

"Dead chicken? Not gold this time?"

"It might be revived next year, so I'll let you off the hook for now."

While the domestic film industry was still reeling from the aftermath of this controversy, Starry Night Pictures had already devoted all its energy to the release of "The Warmest Thirty Days of My Life".

As the release date approaches, a war without gunfire has quietly begun.

The first to launch an attack was "The Legend of the White Snake".

The publicity strategy was extremely simple and brutal—it was all about throwing money at the problem.

From subway and bus stop signs in major cities to homepage ads on major portal websites, the huge poster of Li Lianjie as Fahai, with his eyes wide open in anger, is almost everywhere. Juli Pictures has stopped acting altogether and is directly using Li Lianjie to attract fans.

Enlight Media's "Painted Skin" took a different path.

They cleverly capitalized on the popularity of the lead actors, Deng Chao and Sun Li, a newlywed couple, and heavily promoted their partnership as a "husband-and-wife team."

Various press releases about the two's sweet interactions on set have been published one after another.

As for "1911 Revolution," directed by Jackie Chan and featuring over a hundred stars, it carries a "mainstream aura" and adopts a high-end, sophisticated approach in its promotion.

Various seminars and symposiums are held non-stop, with the main themes being "historical weight" and "patriotism".

For a time, the entire National Day film distribution market was bustling with activity and full of tension.

In contrast, the promotional efforts for "The Warmest Thirty Days of My Life" seemed rather "Buddhist-like".

Aside from the usual trailers and posters, there was no large-scale offline advertising campaign, nor any hype or gimmicks.

However, with Wu Chen's help, they joined forces with Gewara, an online ticketing platform that was in a period of rapid development, and Weibo to launch a campaign called "#Share the warmest 30 days of your life#".

The rules of the activity are very simple.

All netizens need to do is share their most heartwarming and touching personal experience on Weibo and tag three friends for a chance to win a free movie ticket and an autographed poster by Wu Chen and Liu Yifei.

This seemingly simple online event went viral across social networks in just a few days.

Countless netizens began sharing their stories on Weibo.

It's about family, it's about friendship, but it's mostly about love.

"The warmest thirty days of my life were the last month of my senior year of high school. Every day, he would secretly put a bottle of warm milk in my desk."

"The warmest 30 days of my life were my honeymoon with my wife. We went to many places and saw many beautiful sights."

But what I remember most vividly is that one night, we were at the beach and saw a whole expanse of glowing 'blue tears'.”

These real and touching stories from ordinary people spread rapidly like warm currents in the cold world of the internet.

They lack the glamour of celebrities and the eloquence of flowery language. But the genuine emotions they convey touch people's hearts more deeply than any propaganda.

Most importantly, Liu Yifei really enjoyed these stories and commented and interacted with some of them that she liked.

She even brought along her friends Shu Chang, Zhang Liangying, and others to participate.

This topic quickly became extremely popular among young netizens.

This left the marketing teams of the other films completely stunned.

"Can you still play like this?"

"Damn it, Xingchen can come up with all sorts of creative ways to promote themselves. The Venice Film Festival, Wu Chen, and Liu Yifei already had enough buzz, and now they've pulled this stunt!"

"Damn it, this couldn't possibly be China Film Group's idea. We're very familiar with their marketing and distribution. This is definitely Wu Chen's scheme!"

"."

In the president's office of Enlight Media, Wang Changtian looked at the data report on this topic that his assistant had just compiled, and he was filled with emotion.

He picked up the phone and called Wu Chen directly.

"Director Wu, you've taught us a lesson!"

He feels that online channels are becoming increasingly important for film promotion these days.

Although, they are very skilled at the offline approach.

However, if we don't strengthen our online presence, we'll likely be left behind by the times very soon.

"Not at all, not at all." Wu Chen smiled slightly on the other end of the phone. "Mr. Wang is joking."

But, both Ivy and I are lazy. If we had to do roadshows every day, we'd be exhausted. Lazy people have to do things the right way, right?

"Then I'll have to find some time another day to properly learn from Director Wu."

When Wang Changtian said this, his tone was unusually serious.

After hanging up the phone, he looked at the data report again and at the current promotional situation for the National Day film season, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

For the time being, although the competition among filmmakers is fierce during this National Day holiday, things have been relatively harmonious, and there haven't been any major incidents of mutual smear campaigns.
(End of this chapter)